HAI's Founder and Executive Director Michael Jon Spencer received an award at a “Celebration of Community” hosted by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and organized by Catherine Paradiso, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, on September 5th at Gracie Mansion. This event, started in 2000 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, recognizes the achievements of individuals who have devoted their energies to affecting change in their communities.

In addition to Mr. Spencer, the audience of more than 600 people honored Sarah Reinertsen, paralympian and sportscaster, and Marlee Matlin, Oscar winning actress. Ms. Reinertsen, a track and field star with a prosthetic leg, expressed gratitude for having been able to work and achieve recognition as an athlete and sportscaster, opportunities often unavailable to women or people with disabilities.Highlights from Ms. Reinertsen’s career include representing the U.S. at the Paralympic Games in Barcelona in 1992, and covering the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia as a television and web journalist for WeMedia.

Marlee Matlin, an accomplished actress who “happens to be deaf,” and won an Oscar for her work in Children of a Lesser God, has guest -starred on the television series, Seinfeld, Spin City, ER, and Judging Amy, and currently appears on The West Wing. She has played roles ranging from lawyer to bank robber, many of which did not emphasize that she is deaf, nor necessarily focus on the inequalities between deaf and hearing communities. Ms. Matlin has used sign language and her voice in film and on TV. Ms. Matlin concluded her remarks by encouraging audience members to “make noise,” and promised, “silence is the last thing you'll hear from me.”